Fire-arm



(No M6881.)

G. D. PUT-TER.

FIRE ARM.

No. 888,188. Patented Mayr. 18,1888.

WTNCES Ink/ENTER l NITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

GEORGE D. POTTER, OF DEMING, TERRITORY OF NEIV MEXICO.

FIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 338,188, dated March16,1886.

.Application filed OcloherZO, 1884. Serial No. 146,014. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that l, GEORGE D. POTTER, of Deming, in the county of Grantand Territory of New Mexicdhave invented a new and useful Improvement inFire-Arms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full andexact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My principal objects in the improvements which I have devised inbreech-loading iirearms are the better locking of the barrels to thestanding breech, so that the barrels,while so locked, will be preventedfrom moving forward or upward or spreading from the standingbreech,particularly at theinstant of firing, and will not be loosened inany degree by the recoil from ring,but rather-locked more closely;also,to make that part of the locking-gear which is subject to greatwear self-compensating,so that it will never becomeloose from wear;also, to provide a strong, convenient, and reliable lever for operatingthe locking mechanism; and my invention therein consists in the meansemployed in carrying out the above objects, such means beingconstructed,arranged, and operated as more fully hereinafter describedand claimed.

For a better comprehension of my improvements, reference should be hadto the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a verticalsection,nearly central, of a portion of a gun with my improvements;

Fig. 2, a detail side View of the trigger-guard and locking-lever, andFig. 3 a detail crosssection of the locking-lever; Fig. 4, a detail ofthe crescent-cam and its spring.

Similar letters denote corresponding parts in each figure.

A represents the gun-barrels, having an eX- tension-rib, A, with adependent cylindrical hook of the form shown in the drawings, andseparated on the forward side from the body of the rib by a curvedpassage-way, b, said barrels having also a dependent lug, A2, with aboltslot c, on its rear side.

For the purpose of locking the gun-barrels in position for iiring, Iemploy a slot, B,in the standing breech, into which slot, and fittingclosely to its sides, the extension-rib A enters, and engages thereinwith a crescent-shaped cam, C, tapering slightly on its inside towardthe outer end, and adapted to enter and fit closely within thepassageway b. This cam has movement lengthwise in annular grooves d inthe side walls of the slot B. IVhen the hook o enters the slot B inclosing down the barrels, the cylindrical form ci' the hook lits intothe curvatures of' the hook, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, and atthe same time the lug of the barrel, entering its recess, as will bedescribed, p1 esses down a spring and withdraws a pin which holds thelug-bolt retracted, as shown in dotted lines in the same ligure. Then bymeans of the pressure of a V- shaped spring, D, which engages with theinner end of the cam, the cam is l'orced'into the passage-way I),partially encircling the hook and holding it with a firm lock. Inconnection with this cam a lifting-rod (not shown in the drawings) maybe used, pivoted to the inner end of the cam and extending down througha recess, B. in the stock, and through the bottom strap, and terminatingin a proper ringer-piece, by the raising ol' which rod the inner endofthe cam could be raised against the pressure of the spring I), and thecam withdraws from its passage-way b, and in this simple way the cam mayengage and disengage with the extension-rib. The liftingrod might extenddown through the bottom strap,connecting, in the same manner as shown inthe drawings, with the cam and crank G. when the operation upon the @amand bolt would both be accomplished by simply lifting the rod bypressure on its lower end; or aside lever may be attached to one end ofthe crankshaft, said lever being on the side of the stock convenient tothe thumb when the hand is grasping the stock in the usual manner. Iprefer, however, the lever-lifter E, acting positively in bothdirections and pivoted at its upper end to the inner end of the cam O bya pin, h, which works in a slot, 11, in the upper end of the lifter. Theslot i is for the purpose of allowing the lifter to. raise the end ofthe spring and withdraw the hook before acting upon the cam, which untilthis is doneis firmly locked. The lower branch ofthe spring D terminatesin a hook, j, which rests upon the upper end of the lifter and againstthe rear end of a recess, i2, on the upper side of the cam, and servesto keep the spring in position, whether depressed or expanded, as wellIOO as the lifter, and also to hold the cam in its locked position. Thislifter passes through a slot, 7c, in the lug-bolt F, which slot is ofsuch size that the lifter will press against the forward end of it whenthe bolt is pressedinto its slot c, and against the rear end of it whenthe bolt is fully withdrawn from its slot, with a positive motion ineach direction.

For the operation of this lifter, the lower end ofthe sameispivoted tothe arm Zofthe crankshaft G, which in turn is rotated by the lever II,attached to or made a part of the crankshaft, which lever,when pushedforward,with draws the lug-bolt F from its slot c, and at the same timewithdraws the cam C from atta-chment with the extension-rib A', and thebarrels are unlocked from the standing breech. Vhen the lever I-I isdrawn back, the lifter pushes the lug-boltinto its slot and the cam intoits passage-way b, and the barrels are locked down in position vforfiring.v In this operation of the lifter positively the spring D may bedispensed with; but I prefer it, as giving greater ease in working andadditional sejoint, as shown in Fig. 2,

curity in the position of locking. Any tendency ofthe recoil of the gunto withdraw the cam and lug-bolt is counteracted by the position of thelifter E, held by the crank-arm and spring D against a dead-center tothe line of their travel.

For greater convenience, I prefer to have the lever II constitute theforward portion of the trigger-guard, separated from the guard proper ata suitable point, m, by a rabbetand to put in the outside of said levera groove, n, for the reception of a iiat spring, I, preferably taperingtoward its free end, which spring is secured to the main portion of theguard and extends in such groove over the lever H, having its upper endarmed with a hook, o, which takes into a recess,p, in such lever whenthe lower end of the lever is brought in contact with the guard proper,thereby clasping the lever and straightening the joint, and when theleveris pushed forward catches at its free end, as shown in Fig. 2, andcovering the gap between the lever and guard, thereby protecting thetriggers,

I have shown, for additional security in the manipulation ofthe lockingmechanism, a vertical pin, J, mounted on the free end of a iat spring,K, secured to the bottom of the lugrecess e', for the purpose of holdingthe mechanism open and preventing unnecessary wear. This pin takes intoa recess, q, in the lug-bolt when that bolt is withdrawn from its slotc, and there holds it until adected by the action of the lug when itreaches the bottom of the recess c and depresses the flat spring K, andthus withdraws the pin J and releases the bolt. This pin .I holds thebolt, and the entire locking mechanism is held open until the barrelsare closed down, when the locking mechanism begins to operate. f

The spring r shown on the lug-bolt is tende-d only as a bufferordinarily. This lugbolt is shown in the drawings as having its rear endspring, i', taking against an abutment; but may instead take against asafetycatch lever, such as is described in another application of mineof even date herewith, whereby the act of raisingl or lowering thelifter will, by moving the lug-bolt back and forth, operate thesafety-catch to lock and unlock the triggers.

I do not wish to confine myself strictly to the constructions enumeratedabove as preferred by me, as I am aware that many changes may be madetherein without departing from the cardinal ideas of myimprovements-viz., a curved bolt re-enforcing a straight bolt, bothlocking the barrels of a gun in every direction, and both the curvedbolt and the straight bolt locked simultaneously both in the locking andunlocking of the gun, all by the same movement of a single lever.

The advantages or" my construction not incidentally' referred to in theabove description will be apparent to the skillful without furtherenumeration.

In my application for a patent for fire-arms Iiled December 4, 1885,Serial No. 184,741, a crescent-shaped cam and an extension-rib areshown. The said rib, however, is recessed,andhasacentralstrengthening-film. For such a film, in combination withother elements, I make no claim, as it forms no part of the presentinvention.

Vhat I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a gun-barrel having an extension-rib providedwith a dependent cylindrical hook, of a crescent-shaped cam pivoted atone end to a lifter-lever mounted in the frame of the gun and bymovement of the lever engaging or disengaging with said hook,substantially as described.

2. In combination with the dependent cylindrical hook of theextension-rib and the crescent-shaped cam pivoted at one end to alifter-lever mounted in the frame of the gun, the spring D, engagingwith the inner end of said cam and pressing its outer end around saidhook, substantially as described= 3. In combination with thestock of agun, provided with a recess, B, and grooves d, the dependent cylindricalhook of the extensionrib and the crescent-shaped cam adapted to engagetherewith and moving in said grooves in said recess, substantially asdescribed.

4. The combination, with the depending cylindrical hook of theextension-rib and the crescent-shaped cam arranged to engage therewith,substantially as described, of lifter-lever mounted in the gun-frame,pivoted at its upper end to the lower end of said cam, and having itslower end so connected to an operating-lever pivoted upon the gun-frameand operated fr-om the outside thereof that by means of said lever thecam may be engaged with and disengaged from the depending hook,substantially as specified.

5. In combination, the dependent hook of IOO IIO

the extension-rib, the crescent-shaped cam adapted to engage therewith,a lifter-lever pivoted at its upper end to the end of said cam, and theslotted lug-'bolt F, through whose slot the lifter-lever passes, wherebymovement of said lever imparts movement to said lugbolt, substantiallyas described.

6. In combination, the dependent hook of the extension rib, thecrescent-shaped cam adapted to engage therewith, the lever-lifterpivoted at its upper end to the end of said cam, the slotted lugarranged to have the lever-lifter pass through its slot and be actuatedby said lever, and an operating-lever pivoted to the gun-frame,connected to the lower end of the levenlfter, and operated from theoutside of the gun-frame to give motion to thelever-lifter and cam,substantially as specified.

7. The combination of the depending hook ofthe extension-rib, 'thecrescent-shaped cam engaging therewith, the lever-lifter pivoted to theend of said cam, and an operating i crank-lever pivoted to thegun-frame, having an arm within the gun-frame pivoted to the lower endof the lever-lifter,and an arm without the same forming the frontsection of the trigger-guard, the rear section of which has secured toit a spring which is arranged to return to and hold against it (the saidfront section) when the latter has been elevated, substautially asspecified.

8. The combination of the depending hook from the extension-rib, thecrescent-shaped cam, the lifting-lever pivoted to the lower end of s aidcam, the slotted lug operated by the liftinglever, which passes throughits slot,

the lever II," pivoted to the gun-frame, havf ing its interior armpivoted to the lifting-lever and its exterior arm forming the frontsection of the trigger-guard and provided with the recess p, and thespring I, secured to the rear section of the trigger-guard and providedwith the hook o, to engage in the recess p, substantially as specified.

9. A lug-bolt provided with a slot for the passage of the'lifter andwith a slot for the reception of a locking-pin, combined with a springexerting pressure forward to such bolt, substantially as described.

l0. The combination of the iiat spring K, 5o provided with a verticalpin mounted on its free end, the other end of said spring being securedto the bottom of the lug-recess c', with the lug-bolt provided with arecess, q, adapted to receive said pin, and the extension-lug A2,dependent from the gun barrel or barrels, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

ll. The combination of the crescentshaped cani adapted to engage withthe dependent hook of the extension-rib, the lifter-lever to whose upperend said cam is pivoted, the spring D, acting upon said lifter-lever,and the crank-shaft G, provided with an arm to which the lower endofsaid lever is connected, all constructed and arranged to present thecrank-arm and lifter-lever in line when said spring is compressed,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

12. The combination of the depending hook of the extensionrib, thecrescent-shaped cani having a shoulder or notch, Q12, on the upper edgenear its lower end, the lifter-lever pivoted to the lower end of thecam, and the spring D, having upon the edge of its lower arm a hook, j,arranged to enter the recess z2 when the depending hook is locked, andpress upon the upper end of the lifter-lever when the hook is unlocked.,substantially as described.

13. rlhe combination of the lug A2, depending from the barrel and havingthe lug-notch c in its rear edge, the spring K, having one end securedin the lug-recess c and carrying the vertical bolt .I on its other end,and the y Sliding lug-bolt E, provided with a shoulder or recess, q,within which the upper end of the bolt J engages when the lug A2 israised and the lug-bolt retracted, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE D. POTTER.

Vitnesses:

F. WV. CRAVEN, J. E. CURREN.

